The names in the exhibit opening March 16 at the St. Louis Art Museum are all well known. Painters Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot are all represented along with photographers Gustave Le Gray and Charles Marville.
“Impressionist France” – which will be up from March 16-July 6 – presents images of France created between 1850 and 1880.
Marville’s work is also the subject of an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Of that show, The New York Times recently wrote: “his photographs speak across the ages. Clear, cool and rigorous — a few almost seem like Mondrians in their geometry — they extract all sorts of humanity from the chaos and cramped quarters, the nooks and crannies, the mismatched rooflines and patched-up, stained masonry buildings plastered with peeling posters and fading advertisements.”
Writing about its exhibit, “Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris,” the Metropolitan Museum of Art saidthe photographer “documented aspects of the radical modernization program that had been launched by Emperor Napoleon III and his chief urban planner, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann.”
A review in Salon quotes the exhibit’s curator, Jeff Rosenheim, about Marville changing the process he used in the still-young field of photography: “Almost immediately he made technically masterful and visually rich images where you can tell the difference between the sidewalk and the facade of the building and the difference between iron work and glass. The paper negative blended those things, but the glass negative defined those differences.”
Also coming up
The Bosnia Memory Project at Fontbonne University will present stories of Bosnian genocide survivors “alongside traditional Bosnian Sevdah music performed by members of the St. Louis Symphony.
According to a press release, the “Bosnian Journeys: Generations” concert will be at 7 p.m. March 19 at Powell Symphony Hall. The event is free, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
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On view at Portfolio Gallery, 3514 Delmar Blvd., is the work of Synthia Saint James, creator of the first Kawanza U.S. postage stamp.
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Black Violin -- Wilner “Wil-B” Baptiste and Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester, a.k.a. Black Violin – will present a concert in the Edison Ovations for Young People series at 11 a.m. March 15. At the Edison Theater on the Washington University Campus. Cost is $12. According to a press release, “This classically trained duo has mixed and mashed hip-hop and classical traditions — as well as elements of funk, jazz, R&B and even bluegrass — to startling effect.”
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If Isaac Mizrahi is in town to talk about “The Magic Flute,” spring must be close. The fashion designer, who directed and designed the sets and costumes for “A Little Night Music” in the 2010 Opera Theatre of St. Louis season, will discuss his inspiration for the Mozart classic.
Cash bar begins a 6 p.m. with Mizrahi’s remarks starting at 7. General admission is $10, but, as a press release notes, the “price of the ticket can be credited back towards the purchase of any tickets to The Magic Flute or any Opera Theatre subscriptions that are made at the event.”